it's been a while since i've been in a lecture-type setting. during the conference, guest speakers discussed topics ranging from incan astronomy to modern chilean aquaculture. meanwhile, fulbrighters presented research projects in such fields as architecture, identity politics, biochemistry, poverty, sports journalism, sustainability, ESL instruction, economic development, history, media studies, and so on. sadly, even though contemplating latin america from so many different perspectives is undeniably stimulating, my abysmal memory still cannot be trusted to retain anything useful. my notebook is thus my lifeline.

as a rule, any flurry of note-taking is always accompanied by an equal (if not greater) amount of irrelevant doodles. inefficient, yes...but also pretty useless to resist, i've found. sooner or later, the sketches are going to find some way to come out. like this page, which somehow materialized during the orations of a cheerful chilean agronomist.